Tag Archives: adult

Today, INTREPID, book 6 of the series became available for pre-order on amazon, and I can’t explain it…

I have an extremely HIGH sense of elation right now – something along the lines of what I felt when the first book was published. Maybe even higher.

We are so close to the end, and I have met so many wonderful people on this journey. Thank you all for your support, your time and your energy.

I work to promote my books every day, and I now have a following that works just as hard as I do… you guys are wonderful, and I thank you so much for being there!!!

In case you haven’t seen it… this is the blurb for INTREPID, BUT it’s a giant spoiler if you aren’t up to speed on the rest of the series… if that be the case, take one of these links instead and go get started while the boxed set, or at the very least, CAPTIVE, is on sale…

Well, you’re still here, so I guess you are ready to see what’s got my stomach full of butterflies… so here it is…

Intrepid – A New Life SeriesBook 6 of a New Life Series

When past and present collide, how do you escape your fate?

Tori Farrell is finally on the path that leads to a bright future. Raised to be an assassin, she lived in a world consisting of drugs, sex, violence and murder. Gaining her freedom, and discovering her true identity, she has reconciled the life she was born to have with the one she fought so hard to flee. Managing to hold on to her soul mate, she is pushing forward, refusing to allow the fear to hold her back any longer.

Taking her place in her brother’s band, Tori faces new challenges. Learning to live the life of a rock star seems easy enough, and she quickly gets a handle on what she holds most dear. Soon however, the tables are turned, with the realization that the FBI has merely taken to the shadows, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Only when her former lover forces his way back into her life does it become clear; some things are simply meant to be…

Once again, I have been forced to work things out for myself. I paid someone to create a trailer for Life of Recovery and Life of Doubt weeks ago, and so far all I have gotten is a sad video for the first one. And by sad I mean… I hated it. That would just not do.

I got up this morning at normal time, 5 am, made coffee and set to work on the second video, Life of Doubt. I had already mapped out the song I wanted to use and the items that were to go into the video. All I had to do was figure out how to use the movie maker and upload it… how hard could that be?

It actually took about two hours for me to figure out how to use the program effectively, getting all of the timing exactly as I wanted it, and to complete the video. It also took another half an hour to get it uploaded, but it is done.

Now all I need is for a few people to go look at it and tell me what you think… so how about it?

This wasn’t the first item I wanted to cover from my last post in more detail, but it has become the most pressing in my mind since it was added. I have been reading some of the works of my fellow indie authors, and it has been a lot of fun seeing what they are up to. I have been thinking about what makes a work that is enjoyable, and I have come to strongly believe that word choice is a major player in that arena. Have you ever read a piece that had limited word choice? I am currently reading a book I shall not name, largely because I would never publicly bash someone’s blood sweat and tears unless I could not find a single ‘nice’ thing to say about it, and I do not want anyone to take this the wrong way. Beside, overall, the story is enjoyable, and although it was slow to warm up, it is coming along nicely, with one minor flaw: repetitive word use.

Now you may be wondering what I mean by that, so allow me to explain. Given all the words there are in the English language, we often have options that allow us to say exactly the same thing in a variety of ways. Why is it then, that writers become stuck in a rut and use the same words or phrases at regular intervals? This is something I mostly became aware of when I was rereading some of my own work, and I have made it my personal ambition to NOT reuse the same verbs, nouns and adjectives at too high a frequency. To say something is beautiful is nice. To say it twice on the same page detracts from the sincerity. To say it 3 or more times on the same page becomes monotonous.

How can one work to avoid falling into this boring habit? For starters, there is a nifty tool that can be accessed simply by double clicking a word to highlight it, then right clicking to view the alternate options under synonyms. Of course, you have to know exactly what the word means that you are implying, as well as the one that you are opting for, as the fine line between what you meant to say and what you actually said can be crucial. There was a post recently that I followed on FB discussing a self-published book that was horrid in this regard to the point of being hysterical. The author had followed this trick, but had chosen words that didn’t mean anywhere close to what was intended.

That leads us to the second part of using this device; if you aren’t 100% sure, or have any doubt, use the dictionary to look up either or both words, used and options, to be sure the alignment is there before you make the trade. I am sure you all know what a malapropism is, but in case any of you are not familiar with it, I will elaborate. This is a literary term that refers to using an incorrect word that sounds like the one that it is being mistaken for; such as referring to the kiddy pool as the kitty pool. If you were speaking, you might be able to get away with such a slip, but in writing, it stands out more, especially if you decide to switch out ‘kitty’ to make it more interesting and end up with some outlandish non-plausible word choices in it’s place.

Finally, I feel I should address what all of this has to do with Tone, as I titled this article with the purpose of making that connection. The tone of your work comes largely from the words you put into it, kind of like you are cooking up a pot of stew that is flavored by the items you put in the pot. If all you put in are potatoes, then all you get is potato soup. However, if you toss in a wider variety of items, you get a great deal more flavor, and you are able to adjust the tone of your work more finely, taking your reader to new highs and lows more easily and far more believably. Ignoring this fact could drive readers away from your offerings, as having to read that people never walk, run, jog, meander, wander or saunter anywhere, but they are always ‘headed’ where ever they are going can at some point leave your readers looking for the exit to escape what might have been a good story with just a little more appropriate descriptive language.

I took the day off from work yesterday to take care of some book related stuff and decided to start the day with a trip to the gym. I haven’t been going in a couple of months. I have just been too busy with writing my novels, work and other things. Really, I lost my gym buddies and have lacked the motivation that having someone to answer to about not showing up brings. Now I have people pulling me away instead.

So we did a really easy workout – or it should have been. Me, I couldn’t finish anything and was exhausted by the time I left. So today I am sore as hell; shoulders, stomach, thighs, and even that all important rear end. The only part of me that doesn’t hurt to move is my fingers. I guess they are the only real part of me I have been using for months now.

I have a plan though. I am going to start going on Saturdays, when there is no one who will be expecting me to be somewhere else, and I can actually take some ‘me’ time. I also intend to start doing a bit of working out here at the house. There are always easy exercises that you can do at home, its just the fact of getting out of the chair and getting on with it.

I love my gym though. Great crowd there, and not like any that I ever belonged to in the past. I tell people I go to Cross Fit, and I get some funny looks from people. I realize I don’t really look the part, but the people who know me have seen how much I have changed over the last year and a half in that regard, and I am not even hard core about it.

I love the fact that you don’t use a lot of fancy machines and all the exercises are more natural to everyday movements. I also love the fact that I feel better and can move more freely and confidently since I joined. It is a gym that I understand is not for everyone, but it is definitely the best place for me. It is one of the things I am looking forward to when I am able to not be tied down to my current profession – going to the gym regularly.

For days now, I have been working on looking for book blogs for reviews, giveaways, etc. It has been pretty interesting to see all of the time and work that some of the sites have had put into them. I made a page here so that I could start keeping tabs on some of the ones that I like the best. Now I just have to go back and find the ones that I saw before that.

I must admit, working on something like this can be quite tedious. Especially since there is no set way that people want the information. Some want it boom – there it is, others seem to want to see a dog an pony show. I also never realized just how many book review blogs there were out there – and believe me there is more than you can go through in a day, or even a couple of days.

What I would really like is to just find a couple that I really connect with and can work with. I don’t think that is too much to ask. I gave out 15 copies of my book, and only have 1 left that has not given me feedback. All but one of those wants to know when they can get the next book and to hurry up about it, which is great!!! Therefore, I am confident people are going to like it, if I can ever get them to read it. I am just such a person of action, and I hate ‘waiting’ for people to reply to me and tell me whether or not they are interested… call me impatient.

I have been doing a lot of research about authors and publishing a book and thinking about how much putting myself out there like this is going to change my life, or could change it. It is a little scary for me, having had some of the crazy things in my past that I don’t think other people think about.

For example, I was on a particular blog, and instead of a ‘follow’ button, the girl had a ‘stalk me’ button. I realize that she is trying to be cute, and it is kind of funny in the context of the rest of her blog, but I, having actually been stalked before and seen the darker side of things, find that somewhat troublesome.

I have a pretty public job now, and many people know me. I guess you could say, I work in a profession where you are expected to take on a certain role, even in your private life. I can scarcely go any where in my town without seeing someone who knows me, either now or from years gone by, and I can’t help wondering how my actions are affecting the people I work with and my community.

I guess I should mention, the last thing I wanted when I first started working on this was to have people know that I wrote it, but the more into it I get, the more fun I think it is going to be, and I can’t wait until I can devote myself full time to the cause… Maybe this is as much about my getting a new life as the girl in my story.

Was awake several times last night at odd hours thinking about this. Guess that is how it goes for me, up at odd hours with my head full of ideas and things to do…

I wanted to create a place where I could post about my series of books, and to allow others to comment on it as well. I have many friends who have read the first book now, and have gotten a variety of interesting comments personally about it, so I will explain a bit about it here and see where it leads.

First off, where did the story come from? I wrote a series of stories that I have told and retold in my mind for up to twenty years now. The nice thing about doing it in your head, you can play with different aspects and change things just to see where it leads. Putting it on paper, it becomes more solid, more final… this is how it is sort of thing. I hate to say this, but the people who know me already know, this girl is real in my mind, and the things that happened to her are as real as my own memories. Now she lives in the pages of my books.

Secondly, why so many books that are so short? I broke the story up into segments that were manageable and related. I like this because you can read the parts you like over and over, without having to suffer through the parts you don’t like to get there. The first book is definitely the darkest, as it warns you on the back cover. Life of Recovery is almost like a prequel, giving all the background you might or might not need for the rest of the story. You don’t have to read it, as the rest of the books only refer back to it in pieces, and give enough information you are not completely lost without it. However, if you really want the full depth and can handle the truth, then by all means give it a read, at least once. Oh and the large print – that’s cause I am old and I don’t like to struggle to read books, so enjoy.

Thirdly, about romance. I selected the category of romance for my series, largely because as a whole, this is the story about her life, and my favorite part is Book 3 – Life of Love. It tells about the romance portion of her life, which is carried through to the end of the series afterwards, if there is an end. Some have told me this is more of a thriller or suspense novel (speaking of Life of Recovery of course) and I would have to agree with that assessment as well, but that may change when more of the story is revealed.

Finally, why didn’t I just write one long book? Because I detest a book I cannot read in one weekend with life in between. That is why I gave up reading books years ago and just made up my own. I have lots of stories to tell, some fantasy, some dark, some comedy. This is the story I decided to share first. I have many tales about this girl, and I have 4 of them completed, as of today. I have 2 more that will be finished by the ‘end’ of the series, but there are at least a dozen more that I could (or not) tell at some time down the line.

A New Life is meant to come in small segments, just as real life does. I want you to enjoy it without missing out on any part of your own life. No staying up all night to get to the end of the 300 pages that are left (done that). No spending your entire holiday reading an 800 page butt burner (done that too). Just pick up a piece when ever you have time and dream a little. Then put it down and let it roll around in your head for a while. In case you didn’t notice when you read the first one, it is part of the intrigue, and things are seldom what they seem when you have time to reflect upon them in between.